Glacier Park has 'tremendous archaeology'

Maria Zedeno, a University of Arizona archaeologist, reviews findings with Geri Osborne of the Blackfeet Nation. Osborne is sifting through dirt looking for signs of ancient human occupation of the site in Glacier National Park near St. Mary.
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"This area has great potential for a complete record of human occupation of the Rocky Mountain Front." — Maria Zedeno, archaeologist

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Maria Zedeno, a University of Arizona archaeologist, reviews findings with Geri Osborne of the Blackfeet Nation. Osborne is sifting through dirt looking for signs of ancient human occupation of the site in Glacier National Park near St. Mary.
TRIBUNE PHOTO/KRISTEN INBODY

Matt Pailes, a University of Arizona graduate student, excavates with Katie McDoland of the Flathead Nation in Glacier National Park. They've unearthed fire-split stones from an ancient campfire and a bug chuck of burnt-orange bison bone.
TRIBUNE PHOTO/KRISTEN INBODY

Matt Pailes, a University of Arizona graduate student, excavates with Katie McDoland of the Flathead Nation in Glacier National Park. They've unearthed fire-split stones from an ancient campfire and a bug chuck of burnt-orange bison bone.
TRIBUNE PHOTO/KRISTEN INBODY

Kisha Etches a compliance technician and archaeologist Maria Zedeno review findings in a test pit looking for evidence of prehistoric human occupation of land just within the border of Glacier National Park.
TRIBUNE PHOTO/KRISTEN INBODY

Geri Osborne sifts through dirt looking for signs of ancient human occupation in what's now part of Glacier National Park. She said she feels blessed to use her new degree in anthropology so close to her homeland.
TRIBUNE PHOTO/KRISTEN INBODY

Excavating a site close to the river, Reese Harwood of the Blackfeet Nation said the projects he’s worked on with Zedeno for the past three years have been eye-opening as he’s learned about the depth, size and age of places of human occupation in the area.
TRIBUNE PHOTO/KRISTEN INBODY

ST. MARY – Not far from a modern campground but buried under two feet of dirt were the remains of a prehistoric campsite, with granite rocks split by ancient fires and burnt-orange bison bone.

As Katie McDonald of the Flathead Nation dusted dirt away from the newly discovered artifacts, Matt Pailes of Tucson, Ariz., stretched his arms into the pit to retrieve the pieces for Molly Stammer of Babb to wash.

The artifacts carefully were returned to their original spot in the pit for photographs that are part of the cataloging of the site and then bagged for study.

Pailes, a University of Arizona graduate student, organized excavation sites around St. Mary River and checked methods and techniques, reminding workers to "stay level and don't over excavate" so artifacts remain together in layers that can help place them in time.

"My side is teaching the nuts and bolts of good excavation techniques," he said. "We like to keep strict vertical control of what's on top of what as we determine age."

The two best finds he's made at the site were arrowheads likely from the late prehistoric era from at least 1,000 years ago, but "it's the overall context, finding things in association."

Maria Zedeno, a University of Arizona archaeologist, is leading the research at the St. Mary site just inside Glacier National Park.

"Glacier has tremendous archaeology," she said. "It's one of the most significant places in terms of the length of human history here. It is much more complex than meets the eye.

"I feel very privileged as few archaeologists are allowed to excavate in a national park. It's truly a luxury," she said, adding as she gestured to the mountains. "And who gets to work with a view like this? It's beautiful."

Archaeology in a national park is a privilege but also has its challenges.

"We try to minimize the impact while still having a large enough area to inform on the kind of actions that took place here," Zedeno said.

Canadian archeologist Brian O.K. Reeves did extensive testing of the St. Mary area from 1993-1996 and found "the significance of the site merited extensive excavation for data and documentation, but also efforts targeting preservation," Zedeno said.

"In terms of pure archaeology, we have two goals: to survey the boundaries of the site and to uncover enough information about the occupation of the site to characterize it, to know if archaic people used this area as a campground or inhabited it for a period," she said.

Very fine exotic obsidian and a concentration of ochre likely brought from outside the area have been found, along with evidence of fire use in the form of granite rocks cracked by heat and charcoal.

"We uncovered a substantial number of artifacts from the late archaic period just below this modern meadow," she said. "This meadow most likely was much larger than it is now."

Recent erosion has added pressure to learn more about the site.

Washing away pre-history

Since the 1964 flood, the bank of the St. Mary River has been eroding and "has exposed a lot of archaeological materials, and some is washing away as we speak," Zedeno said.

One of the biggest challenges is the erosion created by "impromptu" trails worn in by people accessing the river across grass that is torn away by all those feet, and then water runs into the trail and worsens the problem.

Before any bank stabilization measures can be considered, the parks service needs documentation of erosion and "expanded cultural knowledge of the site," Zedeno said.

The river is high this year, noted archeologist Jesse Ballenger, who is focusing on the erosion assessment.

"Our job is to give smart recommendations. We look at historical photographs to see erosion and precise mapping," he said. "The major flooding this year will scour the banks, which we can compare with last year, too."

Options for addressing the bank erosion can range from hardening the bank with rip-rap, planting vegetation so roots will hold soil or letting erosion continue. Ballenger would like an archaeologist monitoring the area for artifacts and documenting new finds as they emerge.

"We have the potential with this site to go back to the late Ice Age, where in most other places it's too buried," he said. "Artifacts are going to come out. We could lose artifacts and features."

Leaving those artifacts to the river to wash away, to looters or to casual passersby who pick up a piece and remove it from the surroundings are risks.

"Archaeology is all about provenience, where an object came from is as important as the object. We'll lose objects and the surroundings that tell about it," Ballenger said. "It's an important place, with a long active tribal presence. All the momentum is there to treat this site as it deserves."

The site could be part of a new emphasis on telling the prehistoric story of the park to visitors, he added.

Of course, the river and the geology of the area always has played a huge role in the human side of the story.

On one side of the Going-to-the-Sun Road near St. Mary is a depression that filled in over time, and on the other side is a knoll pushed ahead by a glacier, Zedeno said. There the team found large boulders.

"The archaic hunters came here as the soil and land were beginning to form," Zedeno said. "A deposition of cultural materials was formed in significant part due to their presence."

On the knoll, 12,500 years of history is in less than three feet of dirt. On the other side of the road, nine feet of dirt only takes us 1,000 years back. They've found fish bones, net weights and evidence of beaver trapping and dated occupation to 1,000 to 1,500 years ago.

"The fact of nine feet of flood accumulation means the lake surface must have been much lower. St. Mary River may have been a trickle back in the day," Zedeno said. "The record we have of occupation tells us a lot about the climate."

Above the river, the bands of Singleshot Mountain reveal argulite, important in tool making.

"There are a lot of things that attracted people here," Zedeno said. "After 12,500 years ago, this area was de-glaciated, with the potential for people moving through this area."

In the Belly River Valley north of St. Mary, another archeologist found a Clovis spearpoint, technology used 13,000 to 11,000 years ago, a time when large mammals such as mammoths, giant bison, horses and camels were going extinct in North America.

"This area has great potential for a complete record of human occupation of the Rocky Mountain Front," Zedeno said. "That's significant in national history."

Working with the Blackfeet and Flathead

Excavating a site close to the river, Reese Harwood of the Blackfeet Nation said the projects he's worked on with Zedeno for the past three years have been eye-opening as he's learned about the depth, size and age of places of human occupation in the area.

"That did a lot for me in my life," he said. "It never gets old. What we learn is priceless. It's our own site, our own bloodlines. We can learn about our history."

He's studied in the classroom, but archaeology in the field is "far above and beyond," a hands-on experience that made it easy to catch on, Harwood said.

"Now I'm doing it for a lot bigger reason," he said. "It's worth more than money. It's information I can give to my children."

Near his pit, Geri Osborne sifted dirt through a screen. This is her first prehistoric job site, and she's found flakes, charcoal and bison bone.

"We're getting a whole picture. We need to connect the dots to make a strong link and better understand everything. Otherwise we just have holes in the dirt," she said. "We're hoping for diagnostic points (like arrowheads) to date the area."

Aspen trees now cover much of what soil indicates was part of the meadow about 5,000 to 3,000 years ago. Their roots have been a challenge in excavation.

Osborne, also Blackfeet, just graduated in May with a degree in anthropology.

"To use that degree right away and in my homeland, it's hard to say what it means," she said. "I'm blessed to work in our own backyard."

Zedeno and six UA graduate students partner with 17 members of the Flathead and Blackfeet nations on excavations. Some tribal members are students, too, and some are in their 40s. Some have experience and certification in historical preservation and other are beginners.

"We are contributing to knowledge of Montana's history and a small pocket of job creation," Zedeno said. "Once they've trained, they can compete for jobs in a place where jobs are scarce."

This summer, Zedeno and her team also worked along the Two Medicine River, where Zedeno has done extensive research across the past decade.

Recently, she saw her research led to an increase in the Badger-Two Medicine area Traditional Cultural District from 89,000 acres to about 265,000 acres, which means the Blackfeet have to be at the table when the Lewis and Clark National Forest considers development.

"The entire river is significant from the past to the present," she said. "I'm pleased to the bone. It's one of my greatest accomplishments and why I came here in the first place."

Reach Tribune Staff Writer Kristen Inbody at 791-1490 or by email at kinbody@greatfallstribune.com.